1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to rehabilitation equipment and, more particularly, is concerned with an adjustable resistance knee rehabilitating and strengthening apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A large, and probably still growing, number of persons participate in various physical fitness activities on a regular basis. The more popular ones of these activities are running, walking, swimming and playing golf or tennis. However, with the greater participation in physical fitness activities comes a corresponding increase in the incidence of injuries. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,801,138 to Airy et al, it is mentioned that, according to National Center for Disease Statistics, in 1985 there were over 420,000 injuries reported that were attributable to knees alone and that required orthopedic treatment.
Part of the typical treatment for rehabilitating an injured knee is to flex and exercise the joint under controlled load levels. This treatment is ordinarily given at a facility, such as a medical hospital or clinic or a physical therapy center. Sophisticated and expensive machines have been developed for use at these facilities in rehabilitating the muscles and ligaments of the knee joint. However, to use these machines, the patient must leave his or her place of employment or home to travel to the facility to receive the treatment. Then, after the patient has been through the initial rehabilitation treatment, a knee brace is commonly worn during normal daily activities. However, the knee brace frequently interferes with performance of the patient's normal daily activities.
Consequently, a need still exists for the design of an apparatus to use in the rehabilitation of an injured knee which does not have the disadvantages of current rehabilitation treatments.